FILE PHOTO
Billy Ray Cyrus was in the area today (Merriam) (for a "ceremony" commemorating the 12th annual Lee National Denim Day, a fund-raiser for breast cancer research. If a stone-cold mullet and "Achy, Breaky Heart" come to mind when you hear his name, you've lost track of his career.
In July, Cyrus released "Home at Last" on Disney Records, and the video from the single off that album, "Ready, Set, Don't Go," is No. 12 on the "CMT Countown" and No. 15 in the GAC Top 20. More famously, he plays the father to his real-life daughter, Miley Cyrus (above), on the Disney Channel's "Hannah Montana," the show that spawned a tour that started a ticket fiasco. (It stops at the Sprint Center in December.)
Friday morning, before his ceremony at Lee Headquarters, Cyrus talked with The Star about his album, his TV show and the most famous of his three daughters.
How often to people ask you for tickets?
Every day. But I don't have any.
You have your own album, that's doing well, and your own tour. Do you see this as a second chance or the continuation of what you started years ago?
I see it as the evolution of my career. I started to reinvent myself on the TV show "Doc," which was on the Pax Network for four years. So I branched out. You can't put all your eggs in one basket, whether it's singing or acting.
The new album has several very familiar covers on it -- "Brown Eyed Girl," "You've Got A Friend."" It looks like it was made for cross-over potential. How is radio responding?
The album represents who I am and where I'm going, me in the past, present and future. It represents me being myself. The single, "Ready, Set, Don't Go," has a solid foundation in radio where it's been added to regular rotation.
Tuesday night, on "Dancing With the Stars," Miley and I are going to sing the song as a duet. This version turns the song into a girl's anthem, instead of a daddy's anthem. The next day, on Wednesday, that version will go to radio as a single. ... It'll be included on a new version of the album. It's great singing with her -- her voice is so powerful but smooth, like velvet. It sounds so good against my rough, dirt-road voice.
What kinds of crowds are you getting at your shows -- fans of the TV show or fans of your old records or both?
I am seeing lots of kids at the shows. They bring great energy. We're also seeing lots of families, moms and dads and grandparents.
Where will you be when your daughter's tour begins and will you perform together?
Our paths will cross a few times, in Nashville and Fresno, I believe. So we'll work out doing something together.
What kind of advice are you giving her about fame and celebrity?
You know, she's got such a good head on her shoulders. She makes good decisions and choices. All I do is try to be a best friend to her, someone she can talk to when she needs to.
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